Page 96 of Protect Me
I nodded, then chuckled softly. “Seemed like a special way to torture myself. Surrounding myself with you when I couldn’t have you? Torture.”
“Has it been?”
“The best kind,” I murmured.
Vik dragged his hand through his hair, shunting the strands away from his face. I could barely stand to look at him. An ache deep in my chest resonated powerfully. His lithe beauty. His protection.
Had I just lost it all?
Didn’t matter. Having it out felt too good.
“I . . . I’m not sure what I want to say,” he murmured. “Just that, damn. I’m such a lucky guy.”
My head lifted, shocked.
“What?”
A bright, elated smile crossed his face. He laughed, head tilted back. My stomach curled. Would there ever be a time when I didn’t ogle him? Sink into the reverie that was Vikram? In a second, he shot off the bench and at my side. He pulled me from the table and into his arms. My heart banged against his ribcage, taking flight. The dazed feeling of this not being real followed as I looped my arms around him. He felt firm and solid.
Me.
In Vikram’s arms.
Like some astonishing, elaborate Cinderella story.
He reached up, a hand touching my face. The edge of my jaw, the top of my collarbone. His fingertips moved like a whisper until they dropped to my hips, holding me there.
“Kate,” he murmured. “You’re too good to be true.”
“Is this real?” I whispered.
“I hope so.”
“Do you care about me like that? Not just as a sister, but as more?”
Not a breath of hesitation lingered between the question and his response.
“Yes.”
“Can we do this?”
Another laugh, a flashing grin. He pulled me closer. “Not only can we,” he whispered, “but wewill.”
My eyes dropped to his lips, then back. A smoldering heat built there, but he didn’t move. The sense of waiting slowed time, stalled sound. A bubble formed where we hovered, caught in the in-between.
I never wanted it to break.
I lifted my hand to his face and pulled his lips to mine. He came willingly, gently, with the supple press of warmth. A shiver rocketed through me, puckering the skin over my arms. A growl from him and he slanted to the side, deepening the kiss.
I fell into it.
Into Vikram.
The love of my life.
Stars whirled over my head that afternoon.
In the quiet, cool air of the living room, I lay across the couch and clutched a pillow to my chest. For the tenth time, I replayed what had just happened outside the Outfitters store.
